Home > Red Sox expected to be in the mix in OF Justin Upton trade talks

Red Sox expected to be in the mix in OF Justin Upton trade talks

Michael Silverman Wednesday, November 07, 2012

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- The Diamondbacks are once again actively shopping outfielder Justin Upton and despite the appearance of the Red Sox on Upton’s no-trade list, that would not prohibit a trade of the 25-year-old to Boston, according to a major-league source. Players frequently insert names of teams they are willing to play for, as in this case between Upton and the Red Sox, on their no-trade list for negotiating purposes in the event of a trade. The Dodgers were on Carl Crawford's no-trade in August.

That does not make a trade with the Red Sox likely, as there will be several other teams in the hunt, many of whom could match up better with Arizona than the Red Sox do.

FoxSports was first to report that Arizona, for the third off-season in a row, was peddling Upton, whose upside is as high as nearly any other everyday player in the game. The major-league source said that he expects this winter, a trade of Upton can be expected.

It is not known yet if the Red Sox have held discussions with Arizona earlier or here at the GM meetings, but there is little uncertainty that they will explore the trade to discover Upton’s acquisition costs, which will be a drain to any team making the deal.

The Red Sox’ need for a player of Upton’s abilities and caliber is acute but finding a match with the Diamondbacks could prove challenging. Jacoby Ellsbury is the club’s best bargaining chip, but his pending free agency does not help his case. The cost in prospects would also be quite high for Upton, who grew up in Virginia and is comfortable playing anywhere on the East Coast.

After hitting 26 home runs with 86 RBI as a 21-year-old in 2009, Upton has not had a steady upward trajectory the last three seasons. Last year and in 2010, he had 17 home runs and in the high 60’s RBI, while in 2011 he had 31 home runs and 88 RBI.

He is signed through 2015 at an average salary of just under $13 million a year remaining on his deal.